OpenAI’s Instant Checkout, powered by the Agentic Commerce Protocol built with Stripe, is expanding rapidly. After launching with Etsy sellers in late September 2025, OpenAI announced that over 1 million Shopify merchants will be added soon.
Notable brands joining include Glossier, SKIMS, Spanx, and Vuori.
How It Works
ChatGPT users in the U.S. (Plus, Pro, and Free tiers) can now:
Discover products through organic, unsponsored results
Pay via Stripe using their preferred payment method (including Link)
Merchants pay a “small fee” on completed purchases only—refunded if the item is returned. The fee amount has not been publicly disclosed.
The 2026 Roadmap
U.S. only until 2026, then international expansion
70-80% of global e-commerce GMV could be reachable by end of 2026
More merchant categories beyond fashion and home goods
Why This Matters
OpenAI is betting that users will prefer organic, ad-free recommendations over Google’s sponsored results. The 11.4% conversion rate (vs. 6% for direct website traffic) suggests ChatGPT users have significantly higher purchase intent.
With 900M weekly active users and now over 1 million merchants, OpenAI is building the transaction volume needed to challenge Google’s advertising dominance.
The Open Question
Can OpenAI build merchant infrastructure fast enough before Google’s AI ads become the new normal?
Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
